Griffin hopes Cousins can be the Kubiak to his Elway

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 6, 2012, 12:52 PM EST

AP

As the NFL world continues to debate the Redskins’ surprising decision to use their fourth-round draft pick on quarterback Kirk Cousins after already using their first- and second-round picks (and their next two years’ first-round picks) on quarterback Robert Griffin III, Redskins coach Mike Shanahan thinks it’s going to work because he has seen it work before.

Griffin said at his press conference after the Redskins’ rookie minicamp today that Shanahan had told him this situation is comparable to what the Broncos had for nine years, when 1983 No. 1 overall pick John Elway was their starter and 1983 No. 197 overall pick Gary Kubiak was their backup. Griffin said the Redskins told him in advance that they liked Cousins and might draft him, and the situation sounds good to Shanahan, who was a Broncos assistant for six of the nine seasons when Kubiak backed up Elway, because it worked for Elway and worked for the Broncos.

It probably doesn’t sound as good to Cousins, though: Kubiak started a grand total of five games in his NFL career. Cousins surely wants to play more than that.

If Cousins is going to play much in his NFL career, it will probably happen somewhere other than Washington. Shanahan confirmed at his press conference that Griffin will run the first-team offense when the whole team gets together, and he said Griffin is ahead of where the coaches expected him to be right now.

“He’s great,” Shanahan said of Griffin. “I don’t think we had one bust with a play call or coverages the whole minicamp.”

Still, Griffin says he plans to prove he deserves to be the No. 1 quarterback, and not just because he was the No. 2 overall pick.

This whole situation is being completely overblown. The Skins had a second round ranking on Cousins–why not take him in the 4th? If RG3 plays like Vick, isn’t is likely he’s going to get hurt at some point? Don’t you want to have a competent backup, i.e., not Rex Grossman?

Need to remember also, that was back in the 80’s when free agency was pretty much unheard of. It might of worked then but it won’t work now. I’m a huge skins fan but this pick was bad. With so many other needs on the team it was a waste. 4th rounders are starters now days.

Cousins was a great pick for the Redskins. When RG3 busts, Cousins can come in and turn the team around
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And the lions have won how many super bowls and had how many qb busts? you should worry about your own team who has never won or even been to a superbowl before you start being critical of other teams!and for the record,martin mayhew,your GM,won a sb with the redskins jerkweed!

The pick makes a ton of sense from the Redskins’ perspective, but it’s easy to see why comments like this would make Cousins a little uncomfortable. If I’m a three-time team captain, all-time winningest QB in school history with NFL talent like Cousins, being labeled as a career backup by my new head coach is a little weird.

Griffen should say “I’m going to just come in and compete and the #1 QB will start and #1A will be ready every week, and hopefully the Redskins will end up with 2 QBs who are NFL starting caliber guys. I look forward to competing with Kirk and us pushing each other to be as good as we can be.” and not say “they picked up a good backup.”

I like Griff’s attitude. I didn’t like the Cousins pick at first, but I’ve warmed to it. Shanny’s spin has persuaded me. Let’s say Griff goes out for a game, two years from now, with turf toe or something. I’d rather have an up-and-coming Cousins come in than an aging, erratic Grossman. And I’ve been a Grossman defender for a long time. I trust the coaches know what they have in Cousins.

Someone said his arm looks weird in the pic. It looks mechanically picture perfect to me. Im a Eags fan so id like to see him bust but he seems to be such a nice kid cant help but hope he succeeds. Watch out for the Eagles dline theyre brutal.

So if my math is right they have spent their 5 highest picks in this and the next draft on 2 QBs….Good thing Shanahan found Terrell Davis cause I’m not sure he would have had the opportunity to possibly set the Skins back another 5 years

Mike Shanahan and his nepotism are simply being exposed as the years go by and the magnification intensifies. Really examine what happened in Denver. He had what many consider the most gifted Complete QB to walk the gridiron. But he happened to fall upon Terrell Davis who turned out to be the ‘piece’ that made the engine run. Since then, he has not come close to replicating the success. From Plummer to McNabb to Grossman and Beck, his efforts have ended not only in lackluster outcomes but he has often alienated many around him including his ‘hand picked’ signal callers.

I agree winning SBs back to back deserves respect. But Shanahan has past the point where he deserves complete benefit of doubt.

Why do you assume RG3 is going to play like Vicky?……because there both black? So, I should assume Cousins is gonna play like(Leaf, Couch, Carr or Manning, Elway or Marino), because he’s white? Come on people, we have got to get past these stereotypes. If you saw RG3 play at all, you would know he plays nothing like Vick! Or did you just assume, all black QBs play the same!

IMO, RG3 will be a great QB, he says all the right things. Cousins is like your matt schaub, backup for a few years and become a starter for another team. If the skins play their cards right, they could get high value back for cousins like falcons did with schuab. Teams do watch the pre-season games and unless RG3 gets injured, it may be the only time for cousins to shine so he better make the most of it. On another note, the patriots have 2 good QBs behind brady who I believe will be a starter someday.

The way I see it, people are just jealous of the Skins at this point. Every team in the NFL wants a franchise QB and a very capable back up. More than 30% of the QB in the NFL get hurt during the regular season..every game is important. We saw it with the Texans last year.

We also saw the Raiders, who were not prepared when Jason Campbell went down. They had to give away a lot of draft picks for a QB that was sitting at home waiting. So as a Redskins fan, I am good with Cousins. RG2.0 is on the roster folks! Better have another option. Cousins is that option. I am glad to see Shanny spoke with Griffin about this. All is well with Redskins Nation..Hate on..HTTR!

Why do you assume RG3 is going to play like Vicky?……because there both black? So, I should assume Cousins is gonna play like(Leaf, Couch, Carr or Manning, Elway or Marino), because he’s white? Come on people, we have got to get past these stereotypes. If you saw RG3 play at all, you would know he plays nothing like Vick! Or did you just assume, all black QBs play the same!
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Are you serious? RGIII is very comparable to Vick. Scrambling QB, extremely strong arm, excellent rushing threat, great deep accuracy, slight knock on his decision making, etc. It’s not racist at all to compare them. And should we compare Cousins to McNabb just for the sake of not being racist? The only person here bringing up the race card is YOU.

It’s ok for fans to buy into the hype. But, RG,..come on man! You have swallowed all the hype about yourself, hook, line, and sinker. Have some respect for the NFL, of which you have not played a down, yet. WHEN you are a good NFL player, THEN you can say you are good, until then try a more humble approach.

Cousins is the tom Brady to IRG3′s Drew Bledsoe ,, RG3 is gonna be a bigger bust than a DP money shot on a skins fans moms
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The filters on this site are just unbelievable. Several months ago, when people were going on about how if Griffin was white, he’d be the number one pick, I wrote a couple well-written, carefully thought out paragraphs about how I don’t think race is a big factor in NFL decision making anymore. They were deleted within three minutes.

And now, somehow, this guy can just litter every Redskins story with increasingly obscene, graphic, nonsensical, and bizarre comments about ejaculating on Redskins fans moms.

For those of you who don;t know about this guy, it seems like someone literally pays him to sit on his computer all day and write essentially graphic and obscene nonsensical “trash-talk” on every Redskins article on the site. Then, when Washingtonians complain, he explains that he only does it because Redskins fans are so annoying.

I thought the only way to get rid of him was for everyone to ignore him, but this is really getting over the top. If I’m going to censored for saying racism is not a serious problem in today’s NFL, what’s your policy going to be towards peytonsneck discussing the sexual abuse of my mother?

Are you serious? RGIII is very comparable to Vick. Scrambling QB, extremely strong arm, excellent rushing threat, great deep accuracy, slight knock on his decision making, etc. It’s not racist at all to compare them. And should we compare Cousins to McNabb just for the sake of not being racist? The only person here bringing up the race card is YOU.

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People who make comparisons between two people when said two people are not alike only because they are of the same race are the ones playing the race card. Pointing out that someone is using race as the predominant factor for a comparison is not playing the race card.

RG3 is not a scrambling QB. He’s not Vick. He’s not even close. He has great straight line speed but he’s not good at making people miss in the open field and doesn’t really want to use his legs. Vick was always a run first QB. RG3 is a pass first QB. No comparison.

RG3 is a faster Aaron Rodgers in terms of skill set and playing style.

I guess you can take two players and find some similarities about them and then compare them to another but I agree RG3 and Vick’s games are not really that close. Sure they both run fast and they both have strong arms but that is about it. Vick has become more of a pocket passer but he still likes to take off and run if that first read isn’t there. RG3’s is much more accurate with the deep ball than Vick is even now. Another thing to keep in mind is RG3 is fast but he is not allusive and Shanahan knows that. He will not have him run that often in the NFL . The only time RG3 takes off is on broken plays.

Griffen should say “I’m going to just come in and compete and the #1 QB will start and #1A will be ready every week, and hopefully the Redskins will end up with 2 QBs who are NFL starting caliber guys. I look forward to competing with Kirk and us pushing each other to be as good as we can be.” and not say “they picked up a good backup.”
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dawglb says: May 6, 2012 4:03 PM

It’s ok for fans to buy into the hype. But, RG,..come on man! You have swallowed all the hype about yourself, hook, line, and sinker. Have some respect for the NFL, of which you have not played a down, yet. WHEN you are a good NFL player, THEN you can say you are good, until then try a more humble approach.
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Has anybody else noticed the bizarre tendency people have to read between the lines of Griffin’s quotes and come up with their own Griffin quotes that make him seem like an ass?

Everyone who read the article saw Griffin’s quote:
“Even if you are supposed to be ‘the guy,’ you still start off at the bottom of the barrel, have to work your way up.”

Clearly I’m missing something, because as far as I could tell, nowhere in “Even if you are supposed to be ‘the guy,’ you still start off at the bottom of the barrel, have to work your way up,” does Griffin trash Cousins or anoint himself the greatest player of all time.

RG3 is a faster Aaron Rodgers in terms of skill set and playing style.
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“Skill set” being what? Able to read progressions and place the ball in exactly the place it needs to be? And you are saying RG3 is the same as Rodgers, but faster at doing things? Really? I’m actually an RG3 fan, but to put him in the same sentence as the reigning NFL MVP is rather stupid. Epic Fail.

Has anybody else noticed the bizarre tendency people have to read between the lines of Griffin’s quotes and come up with their own Griffin quotes that make him seem like an ass?

Everyone who read the article saw Griffin’s quote:
“Even if you are supposed to be ‘the guy,’ you still start off at the bottom of the barrel, have to work your way up.”

Clearly I’m missing something, because as far as I could tell, nowhere in “Even if you are supposed to be ‘the guy,’ you still start off at the bottom of the barrel, have to work your way up,” does Griffin trash Cousins or anoint himself the greatest player of all time.

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Yes. There is a weird desire on the part of RG3 detractors to paint him as arrogant.

IRG3 is all hype, selling autographs n pictures, already talkn bout other qb’s on his team are beneath him, get real u don’t hear Luck talking and acting like IRG3, AKA AKILI smith JR. and skins fans we were a game away Froom superbowl before peyton against steelers, and won SB in baltimore, but what’s yr winning record the past 20 years? ……..embarrassing huh, even Gibbs said F that im going back to racing, these guys are some epic losers! ALL FAIL TO THE redskins

“Skill set” being what? Able to read progressions and place the ball in exactly the place it needs to be? And you are saying RG3 is the same as Rodgers, but faster at doing things? Really? I’m actually an RG3 fan, but to put him in the same sentence as the reigning NFL MVP is rather stupid. Epic Fail.

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No, sorry. You’re an idiot. I didn’t not say that RG3 is as good as Rodgers. If you read that then it shows that you have poor reading comprehension skills. My describing RG3 as a faster Rodgers was clearly an intention to describe Griffin as a faster runner. Your comprehension to the contrary is your fault and further suggests that you have intellectual deficiencies.

When I said playing styles and skill sets it’s pretty clear what I meant. Both RG3 and Rodgers are about the same height, have strong arms, are very accurate pocket passers who can move around the pocket to deliver the ball. Both excel with the deep ball. Griffin is of course faster. In short, they are both athletic average-sized QBs who use their feet, not to run, but to beat defenses with their strong arms and can be incredibly accurate, particularly on deep throws.

I did not state that RG3 is as good as Rodgers. If he maximizes his potential, he could be. That has not been decided yet.

RG3 is a faster Aaron Rodgers in terms of skill set and playing style.
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“Skill set” being what? Able to read progressions and place the ball in exactly the place it needs to be? And you are saying RG3 is the same as Rodgers, but faster at doing things? Really? I’m actually an RG3 fan, but to put him in the same sentence as the reigning NFL MVP is rather stupid. Epic Fail.
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“And you are saying RG3 is the same as Rodgers, but faster at doing things?”

No, that isn’t what he said, that’s what you said. bigassbrando was comparing the playing styles of Griffin and well-known quarterbacks in the league. All he said was, as quarterbacks, Griffin and Rodgers have similar strengths. When he said Griffin was faster, he meant that if Griffin and Rodgers had a race, Griffin would win. He did not say anything about Griffin’s ability or level of success in the NFL compared to Rodgers.

Similarly, I played basketball in high school, my skill set was similar to Dennis Rodman. I was a very good defender but pretty bad at scoring from outside of five feet. Did I go on to win five Championship rings, marry Carmen Electra, Madonna, and myself? No. But, as a basketball player, was my skill set similar to Rodman’s? Yes.

@peytonsneck is a racist clown. Here is his comment on Griffin. Then look at his previous comment on Luck.
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peytonsneck18 says: Mar 1, 2012 5:46 PM

OVERATED QB!!! Will never win a superbowl or even get to one!! Mark my words
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peytonsneck18 says: Feb 26, 2012 1:34 PM

Can folks leave race out of it!!!! I’m a Colts fan and we all know how infatuated Irsay is with Luck. RG3 to Browns and rest of drafts falls in place. And folks please put your crystals ball down and hang up on from the physhic hotline cause nobody will know if Luck a bust til several years in the NFL. Give it a rest folks!

@bigassbrando and jwreck –
Appearances are you are annointing him and he hasn’t played yet. I mentioned I was a fan of his skills, but I just don’t see a resemblance with Rodgers. Once I see RG3 sit in the pocket and pick through his progressions without bolting, I will think differently. I suppose a lot of that will have to do with the O line.

Griffin is a classy guy, he doesn’t buy into the media with their negative comments about him and he says all the right things unselfishly. Guys like this should be routed for success, not to fail im mean what is it you don’t like about him as a player or person? RG3 andto Luck are gonna be around for years to come with stellar careers. Cousins, Osweiler and Moore IMO, has the potential to take their talents to the next level and become stars.

aaronp2098 says:
May 6, 2012 2:22 PM
So if my math is right they have spent their 5 highest picks in this and the next draft on 2 QBs….Good thing Shanahan found Terrell Davis cause I’m not sure he would have had the opportunity to possibly set the Skins back another 5 years
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Wrong….Our 3rd round pick in 2012 was OG Josh LeRibeus and 4th round pick in 2012 LB Keenan Robinson. I dont know what the big deal is. Most 4th round pick QB’s are not starters waiting to happen. He is going to be a good backup. Cousins should come to grips with it too just like you guys. Name “all of the holes” on the Skins after this draft…..not many.

laeaglefan says:
May 6, 2012 7:19 PM
He’s being a bit presumptuous thinking he’s going to get the lead role by default. How about Cousins playing the role of Elway and Griffin playing the role of Kubiak?
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Not at all. In fact, by the time this article was written, and Griffin’s tweet had been tweeted, Griffin had already been declared the starter.

Second, to pretend for even a second like Griffin wasn’t going to be “the guy” would just be ridiculous. Griffin is not an arrogant guy at all, but he knows the Redskins gave up two first round picks to move up and get him. If he was not “the guy”, he would be doing nothing but letting Washington down in a big way. Griffin was drafted to be “Elway”, Cousins was drafted to be “Kubiak”. To ask Griffin to act or say anything otherwise would be asking him for a show of extreme false modesty, which is in many ways more obnoxious than arrogance.

This clearly means that you are an ignorant little pest. Dating back to 1992 (and if you can’t do the math, that’s 20 years), the Redskins won a Super Bowl. Plus, we had stars like the Hogs, Art Monk, Mark Rypien, the list goes on.
It doesnt even stop there. When Joe Gibbs returned he led the Redskins to a few more playoff appearances, is that something not worth noting? That’s pretty big talk coming from a fan of a team that was a complete disaster last year. The Colts are in a bigger hole than the Redskins, and the addition of just one rookie QB isn’t going to get you a Super Bowl immediately. Same thing with the Redskins, but I’m just saying — I’d rather go to the Redskins rather than the mess that is the Colts.
Why dont you go and actually keep look up what you are going to criticize instead of opening you’re incompetent and ignorant mouth.

The ‘Skins drafting Cousins has been one of the dumbest debates ever. If a team drafts two players from any other position besides kicker or punter, no one would say a word. No matter how high they were drafted. But half the teams don’t have a QB they can win with. Most believe you need two in case of injury. The ‘Skins had none that could win before the draft.

So they got two. No comment on Griffin. They did need two QBs. But if the ‘Skins hadn’t drafted a QB and only took Cousins, how many would argue that they had solved their QB problem. Most would look at a QB drafted in the 4th round as a project. But because they took one with the second overall, the QB in the fourth makes you question the first QB. Really? Some peoples heads are totally, totally screwed up. Included so called football experts.

Well for all he gave up to get Griffin, Shannahan wants to get a little back and so Cousins will be his project. If he can flip Cousins for future picks it’ll all be worth it in the end. I watch the Redskins & the line is terrible so its good to have a hopefully decent backup.

U skins fans are the laughing stock of the NFL, yr IQ is the same number of what u make an hour at yr job cleaning toilets at gas stations, u get on here and say yr going to this years SB with RG3 and out, HAHAHAHAHA, THE guy hasn’t even went thru training camp or preseason games, yr just making it easier for other teams fans to laugh in yr face, yr owner already owns that crown by sueing fans, so this hail talk is comical, and I don’t regret anything I said to to foreskin fans, yr some Sensative little girlie men and snitches, embarrassing franchise u have